Cristiano Ronaldo agrees record-breaking contract after Newcastle United ‘talks’

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly agreed a record-breaking contract with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr following his exit from Manchester United.

The 37-year-old ignited his Old Trafford departure earlier this month during a TV interview with Piers Morgan - admitting he does not respect Erik ten Hag among a number of other controversial statements.

The Red Devils took legal advice and opted to terminate Ronaldo’s contract - just days before the start of the World Cup, where he is currently competing with Portugal.

After the tournament in Qatar however, a lot of the world’s focus will turn to Ronaldo’s next club. And according to Spanish publication Marca, the six-time Ballon d’Or is set to sign a £173million-a-year contract with Al Nassr.

It was claimed by the Daily Mail that Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes had held talks with Newcastle, news that came as a huge surprise to Magpies supporters.

Previously, head coach Eddie Howe was asked about the prospect of signing Ronaldo and relayed the club’s policy and signing youngster players to get the average age of the squad down.

READ MORE: Former Liverpool man ‘sees’ Cristiano Ronaldo at Newcastle United amid huge contract offer

“He’s an outstanding player,” Howe said. “If you look at his goal record last year, it was incredible. For me, the transfer has worked, it’s been a success.

“He scored some massive goals last year, and some really late important goals in the Champions League. He’s still an outstanding player and should never be underestimated.

“We’re trying to provide long-term growth, we’ve got a longer-term vision. At the moment, we have quite an ageing squad, so we probably need to invest in more young players. That’s probably a big part of our progression, really.

“We need to get the average age down, so it might not be a signing that we would necessarily look to make – but not under-estimating the quality of the player.”

Al-Nassr - managed by former Roma, Marseille and Lyon boss Rudi Garcia - are one of the most successful clubs in Saudi Arabia having being crowned winners of the country’s top flight nine times.

Newcastle travel to Riyadh next week for a week-long training camp as part of their preparations for the Premier League restart, which includes a friendly against Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal.